


Dear Father

by EchoThruTheWoods, Razziecat (EchoThruTheWoods)



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:08:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25638544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoThruTheWoods/pseuds/EchoThruTheWoods, https://archiveofourown.org/users/EchoThruTheWoods/pseuds/Razziecat
Summary: A selection of letters sent by a young boy to the father who left him to be “the man of the house.”
Comments: 7
Kudos: 12
Collections: FF7 Fanworks Exchange '20





	Dear Father

**Author's Note:**

  * For [j_marquis](https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_marquis/gifts).



> Full disclosure: It turned out that my prompts came from a friend with whom I roleplay, and I’m familiar with their headcanons for Vincent Valentine.This fic is inspired by that Vincent’s backstory.
> 
> For dating purposes I used the “official” birthdate of Vincent Valentine, October 13, 1950. From this you can deduce his age at the time each letter was written. ;)

**A selection of letters from the personal effects of Valentine, Grimoire, deceased, late of Shin-Ra Electric Company, Science Dept.:**

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (November, 1958)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father: 

Hello, this is Vincent writing to you. Mother said I should write to you while you are away, she said that it would be almost like talking to you, so I am doing that now.

I hope that you are well and your work is going well and you are not lonely. I am very well, and Mother is well. My school work is going well also, I received highest marks on all my tests last week. 

Mother says to please take care as the winter is cold in Midgar and very wet. 

That is all for now, I hope you have a good day and a good night.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

________________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (December, 1958)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father: 

I am writing to wish you a Very Happy Yule and to thank you for the gifts which you sent to me, namely: The Binoculars, the Microscope, and the new Rifle Scope. Mother says that you picked them out special just for me. 

The Binoculars are very fine and I was able to see across the river and watch the deer come down to feed in the meadow. I have used the Microscope to study the moth I found by the river last summer. Did you know that there are aquatic moths and you can identify them by gills on the body. Isn’t that interesting? I am sure that I will get much use of your gifts.

Oh and Mother has received your book, she showed me your name on the cover. I like how it has your picture on the back, it is almost like having you here but not really.

I am fine and Mother is fine. I hope that your work is going well and you are not lonely. Mother says take care. Have a good day and a good night.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

________________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (April, 1959)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father: 

I am writing to tell you about two things which have happened at home. The first is the bad news as Mother says it is always best to get it over with. 

I have had my tests this quarter and I have passed them all with high marks except one. The test which I did not do well on was in Midgarth which is harder than Wutaian. My score was 89% and I am sorry that I did not get 100%. Mother says I must practice more. I promise to be perfect from now on and make you proud of me.

The second thing is the good news and that is that there are baby bats in the woods. Their nest is in the old hollow tree by the holly bush on the path to the river. It is very exciting because they are twins and Mother says that is uncommon. 

I would like to ask that when you come home for a visit, please can you bring me a book about bats? I want to know more about bats. And also one about insects, they are so beautiful and I love them. If you can’t, that is all right.

I am doing well and Mother has been tired and out of sorts but is feeling better now. I hope that your work is going well and you are not lonely. Have a good day and a good night.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

________________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (November, 1960)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

This letter is to thank you for the birthday gift. The rifle is very fine. I have practiced with the targets every day. My accuracy is now 94%. Please forgive me that it is not yet 100%.

I am sorry that I did not write sooner. Mother has been unwell and has been asking about you. I have been reading your book to her in the evenings, it makes her smile but sometimes she cries. She likes it when I brush her hair. Also the valerian tea has helped her sleep. 

I hope that you are well. If you are lonely, perhaps you could come home for a visit soon. If you come for Yule, I will make your favorite dinner and we can walk in the woods.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

___________________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (February, 1961)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

I am writing to tell you not to worry if you have heard about the floods in Wutai. Mother and I are fine, we did not have to evacuate after all. Some water did get into the basement, and I am sorry but I did have to go down there to check the damage. It turned out fine as Yoshi from the village helped me to pump out the water. I promise that I did not go into your laboratory, please do not worry or be angry.

We had snow at Yule and it was cold. We had a quiet day. I told Mother that you wished us both a Happy Yule, I hope that is okay. Did you receive the butterfly that I sent to you? I pinned it myself, I was very careful. I think it will look nice in your office and remind you of home.

I must stop now as it is time for Mother’s tea. She will be cross if I am late, sometimes she is afraid if I do not come to her room and turn on the light.   
  
I hope that you are well and are not lonely.

Your loving son,

Vincent

___________________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (May, 1961)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

It is very warm here and the garden is growing nicely. If all goes well, I will have beans, daikon, and eggplants to store for winter, and also many herbs. The oregano was very overgrown so I traded five large bundles in the village, for Mother’s favorite tea. 

There are hornworms in the tomato plants, they are most interesting to observe. I have enclosed sketches to show you. Also I found a cocoon there as well, did you know that it will become a sphinx moth? I will try to make a sketch when it emerges if I get to see it.

Are there butterflies in Midgar? If you see one, could you make a drawing to show me? Only if you have time.

Mother has been very cross this week. Yesterday she did not want her tea. I am sorry to tell you that she broke some of grandmother’s china: Her cup, and saucer, and a plate. I am sure she did not mean to. If you are not too busy, do you think that you could come home for a visit soon? Please and thank you.

I hope that you are well and are not lonely. 

Your loving son, 

Vincent

_____________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (January, 1963)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

I’m writing to wish you a Happy New Year. I hope you had a nice Yule. It’s very cold this winter, we have a lot of snow. I had to make a tunnel through it to get to the woodpile, but it wasn’t very hard, as I have grown quite a bit this past year. You’d be surprised to see how tall I am now. 

I am worried about Mother. It’s hard to persuade her to eat and drink, and sometimes she does not know my name. She asks about you, but she does not believe me when I tell her you’re in Midgar. Yesterday she struck me, but I don’t think she meant to hurt me. Her illness is very hard to bear.

If the master of the Shin-Ra would allow you to come home for a visit, I think Mother would improve. I would like to continue my studies, too. Please forgive my asking.

I hope that you are well, and are not lonely.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

_________________

  
  


Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (April, 1963)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

It has been a very hard spring. Heavy snow damaged the garden fence and several of the fruit trees, and a hailstorm in March broke a window, and loosened shingles on the roof. The hail was very loud, and Mother was in distress, calling for you. I could not comfort her, she threw her hairbrush at me and blamed me for your absence. 

There was a lot of debris scattered all around the house and in the garden. I have done all the repairs, and salvaged the garden, I hope I’ve done all as you would wish.

I know that your work is very important, but I wish that you’d come home. Mother is failing, and she wants to see you, she doesn’t want me. Forgive my asking, I hope that you can visit soon.

I hope that you’re well, and are not lonely.

Your loving son, 

Vincent

_______________

Letter from Vincent Valentine, to his father (July, 1963)

Translated from Wutaian

From: Master Vincent Valentine, Valentine household, Wutai

To: Dr. Grimoire Valentine, Midgar

Dear Father:

Mother passed away this morning. It was sudden. The house is very quiet now.

If you’ve gotten my letters, you know that I tried the best I could to take good care of her, as you instructed me when you left for Midgar. I did everything Mother wanted, even when she was cruel and berated me or called me names. I know that it was not enough. 

She will be buried in the clearing past the garden, near the river but high up where the water will not disturb her grave. I’ll put roses there and tell her they’re from you.

I’ve been having very strange dreams. Sometimes I dream that I’m another person, not myself at all. I don’t know why. Perhaps when you come home, you can tell me why. I promise I won’t be afraid.

Please come home soon. It’s lonely here.

Your loving son,

Vincent

_____________

**Found in the personal effects of Valentine, Vincent, Dept. of Administrative Research (missing on assignment, presumed dead). Translated from Wutaian. Not dated.**

Dear Father, 

I know that you will never read this letter. They told me you died. They told me that your body went at once to the Lifestream, that there was nothing left to bury. Somehow that seems appropriate; you disappeared without a word, much as you did when I was a child. 

You had aspirations for me, that I might follow in your footsteps, earn degrees in Science, perhaps join you in working for the mighty Shin-Ra Electric Company. I never did know what work you did for them, nor why it was so important that you never came home.

I do know this: I won’t follow you in either academia or science. I have no trust in those institutions, that would take a husband and father away from his wife and son. And yet it seems the only honorable thing to do is to join Shin-Ra myself, and continue the legacy you began. 

This I have done by signing on with the Department of Administrative Research. Father, I am a Turk. I’m sure they’ll make good use of my skill with firearms that you once nurtured in me. 

I hope that I will be well, and will not be lonely.

Your loving son,

Vincent

**Author's Note:**

> I needed a better name for the language that’s spoken in and around Midgar, as I find “Midgarian” a very unwieldy sort of word. I think that, as Shinra’s influence and power spread, the language spoken by the people at the center of that power would become the dominant tongue on the continent, perhaps even before the names of the other towns it absorbed were forgotten. At any rate, I hereby suggest the term “Midgarth” as the name of that tongue.


End file.
